Site provided as a public service. You agree that you use its material at your own risk. See conditions below.

This site is not affiliated with any of the sites or institutions on this page. By using it, you agree to terms and conditions of site use agreement. If you do not agree, you may not use site.

ALL WARRANTIES DISCLAIMED
There is no claim or warranty, either express or implied, that the information is correct, error free, complete, valid, or suitable to any particular situation or in general, or that it is the best or only way to solve the problem. The information provided must not be used as the sole basis for education, diagnosis, or for treatment. Other sources, including professional
medical opinion, should be consulted before taking any action. Be prepared: Take a CPR or
first aid class.

outsmart you - be constantly aware of where the fire is or might go (it can suddenly be behind you cutting off escape), fires will restart from hidden embers given the right conditions for it, avoid canyons or 'chimney' areas where hot air will rise faster increasing the speed of the fire, etc.

Other considerations

fire can lie dormant (smoldering) in certain conditions until the right conditions to flame are present - flammable material, oxygen, heat.

the by-products of fire (smoke, updraft) can be as deadly as the fire itself.

In the end

fire can be stopped or prevented by taking into consideration all of the above

Forest Firest: Statistics of Causes in Virginia USA
"Forest fires, also called wildfires or outdoor fires, occur on average between 1,500 and 2,500 times per year. These fires burn an average of 8,000 to 10,000 acres. People are injured or killed, buildings are destroyed, and significant damage to the forest and environment occurs. "...
"In Virginia, most forest fires are the result of human actions, and can be prevented by using common sense, following fire safety rules, and obeying fire laws. The greatest number of fires occur in February, March, April and May. This period is known as Spring Fire Season. Fall Fire Season in October, November and December."
Percentage of fires caused:
Open Burning 30%, Arson
20%, Smokers
14%, Misc.
(house, vehicle, aircraft, etc.
that spread to the forest)
11%, Children
9%, Equipment Use
7%, Railroads
5%, Lightning
3%, Campfires
1%

Forest Fire Statistics and Causes This site with figures for Estonia presents an interesting picture and tells us a lot about the causes of forest fires.
"The average size of a forest fire was three hectares..."
"...for the last ten years, it should be noted that only approximately one percent of all the fires are caused by natural factors (lightning, etc.). The remaining 99 percent are generally related to human activities. Wildland fires are caused by the following factors: natural factors (lightning) 1 percent; arson 14 percent; agricultural operations 8 percent; logging and forestry operations 1 percent; transportation and communications (railways, electricity lines) 5 percent; general public (campers, other visitors, children) 52 percent and other causes 1 percent. Unknown causes account for 18 percent of all Forest fires."

NASA Free DownloadWorld WindIncredible Satellite Imaging of Earth - (needs Windows 2000 or XP)
Among the other features of the engine and of particular interest to this page is MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) which "...produces a set of time relevant data that's updated every day. MODIS catalogs fires, floods, dust, smoke, storms and even volcanic activity."
The downloadable engine gives in addition, the following: 3D engine, Blue Marble, Land Sat 7,
SRTM Animated Earth MODIS,
GLOBE Country & State Borders Place Names,
Visual Tools Landmark set
World Wind is developed at NASA Ames Research Center by Chris Maxwell, Randy Kim, Tom Gaskins, Jessica Gan and project manager Patrick Hogan.

World maps and images (not-up-to date) - wealth of info for study GEsource World Guide Wealth of information
Gives information and satellite images from around the world for use in study and presentation.
The satellite images are one year old and older and are not meant to provide an up-to-date imaging
Facility but a teaching and study source. Contains many other images besides forest fire.

Excellent age graded site with information on many fire related topics, safety tips, and many references including teacher's guide, learning materials, posters,
Sponsored by USDA Forest Service, National Association of State Foresters, Ad Council

USDA Fire and Aviation Management -
Learning about Wildland Fires – Links
Gives a number of references which can be used in the teaching and exploration of
Wildland fires.

Forest Fires: The Lesson Pack Can be generalized to other areas. "This exercise is designed to be an introduction to forest fires in Canada. Background information focuses on the role of fire in the environment. Past uses and current debates are examined. The mapping exercise examines the causes of forest fires and general distribution patterns across Canada."

Factors affecting the vulnerability of houses to wildland fire in the Mediterranean region (PDF) Discussion of wildland-urban interface (WUI) areas. While focus is on Mediterranean area, parameters, types of elements taken into consideration and findings are of interest to everyone.
By the National Agricultural Research Foundation Institute of Mediterranean Forest Ecosystems and Forest Products Technology, Greece
"Knowledge of the factors that make houses and other structures vulnerable to fires in
wildland-urban interface (WUI) areas is a key for planning the development of such
areas and for taking preventive steps to protect individual homes."

National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Codes and Standards
See Codes and Standards - NFPA develops, publishes, and disseminates more than 300 consensus codes and standards intended to minimize the possibility and effects of fire and other risks. Virtually every building, process, service, design, and installation in society today is affected by NFPA documents."

On-Line Systems Fire.org software (systems for online management) and also see 'listing of On-Line systems'

which are available for predicting and managing wildland fires.
Fires software and online fire systems:
BehavePlus, FARSITE, FlamMap, FireFamily Plus, FOFEM, fireLib, NEXUS
And on-line systems: WFAS, FIREMON, FEIS, FMT Online.
"This site is designed for wildland fire professionals and students who require access to the latest software, documentation, and technical papers developed by Systems for Environmental Management and the USDA Forest Service, USDI National Park Service, USDI Bureau of Land Management for use by federal, state, and local fire management agencies.
Fire.org is a cooperative effort by Systems for Environmental Management, Missoula, MT and the Fire Sciences Laboratory of the Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Missoula, MT. "

CHARADE
"CHARADE is a software prototype designed to support decision-making in forest fire management. It can be used either in a real operational context, in a simulated environment for training, or for long-term planning purposes. Its flexible architecture also means it can be adapted for use in other environmental emergency situations such as in flood or pollution prevention.

Wildland Situation Analysis From Selected Tools USDA Forest Service
What is WFSA? Selected quotes
- "...A WFSA is not a software program or a computer model. There is no agency directive that requires the use of the existing software. A good paper document that covers the items required by each agency can suffice. WFSA is a decision analysis process."
- "...The WFSA software (WFSA Plus 03) can be a valuable tool to work through the documentation of the suppression decisions made by the Agency Administrator. Hence it can be used as a decision support tool – it does not provide answers – only those responsible for land management at and near the incident can make decisions related to strategic objectives on the management of an unfolding emergency. It allows the comparison of different alternatives and how well they meet your established objectives. Preseason work on the needed elements for a good WFSA is important – waiting “until the glow is in the sky” may be too late to get the information to help move through the preparation. "
- "...It is intended to be a dynamic process – it likely will require updates and modifications throughout the management of an incident."
- "...As the complexity of a wildland fire escalates so to should the WFSA documentation and the underlying analysis that supports the decision."

Hayman Fire & BAER Information
Burned Area Emergency Rehabilitation (BAER)
" BAER (pronounced 'bear') Teams are formed after major fires to assess
damage caused by the fire and to implement a rehabilitation plan that will prevent loss of life and property and reduce further natural resource damage. In a nutshell, they survey and implement a plan to accomplish erosion control."

NFPA Online - National Fire Protection Association
"The NFPA mission is to reduce the worldwide burden of fire and other hazards on the quality of life by providing and advocating scientifically-based consensus codes and standards, research, training, and education."
See Codes and Regulations section above.

CIFFC Information Station "The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) provides operational fire-control services, as well as management and information services to its Member Agencies. In addition to coordinating services for all of the provinces and territories, CIFFC often coordinates the sharing of resources with the United States and other countries."